as in partial
inclined to favor one side over another
a shamelessly partisan reporter covering the primary campaign
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
variants
also partizan
1
as in adherent
one who follows the opinions or teachings of another
partisans of the charismatic leader refuse to tolerate any criticism of him at all
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in militant
one who is intensely or excessively devoted to a cause
a partisan of the revolution who was even willing to give her life for it
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in sectarian
one who stubbornly or intolerantly adheres to his or her own opinions and prejudices
she's too much of a political partisan to ever concede that the other side might have a valid point
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of partisan
David Weigel, semafor.com, 2 June 2026
Presidential elections and non-partisan races, such as city and county officials, do not have open primaries.
—Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 2 June 2026
Lucas Robinson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 May 2026
This rhetoric is not just the thoughtless ramblings of mindless partisans.
—Chris Roemer, Baltimore Sun, 30 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for partisan
Adjective
California game theory The races for California governor and Los Angeles mayor have been reshaped by the top-two system that replaced partisan primaries 14 years ago.
—David Weigel, semafor.com, 2 June 2026
Presidential elections and non-partisan races, such as city and county officials, do not have open primaries.
—Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 2 June 2026
Noun
The unprecedented corruption and self-dealing in the White House and the President’s family go entirely without oversight by partisans who once complained about Hunter Biden.
—Lucas Robinson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 May 2026
This rhetoric is not just the thoughtless ramblings of mindless partisans.
—Chris Roemer, Baltimore Sun, 30 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for partisan
Recent Examples of Synonyms for partisan
Adjective
-
Congress has already funded the rest of the Department of Homeland Security 's budget but funding for ICE and CBP were separated out during negotiations over immigration enforcement reforms to end the historic partial government shutdown.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 June 2026
-
Ticket holders can either keep their existing tickets for the replacement performances — with partial refunds automatically issued because of the lower ticket price — or request full refunds through Etix by June 8.—
From Staff Reports,
Charlotte Observer,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
Its adherents promote terrorism and sabotage to incite a race war and to bring about social collapse.—
Odette Yousef,
NPR,
27 May 2026
-
And most of today’s Esperanto adherents are neither naïve nor even particularly batty.—
Katie Thornton,
Harpers Magazine,
26 May 2026
Noun
-
The taking of Beaufort castle, near the city of Nabatiyeh, followed days of airstrikes and intense fighting in nearby villages between Israeli troops and Hezbollah militants.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
31 May 2026
-
The new Lebanese government came to power with promises to disarm groups like Hezbollah, but the militants resisted.—
Melanie Lidman,
Los Angeles Times,
31 May 2026
Noun
-
The Iraqi prime minister at the time, Nuri al-Maliki, was a Shiite sectarian with close ties to Iran, and many of his fellow Shia thought he could be relied on to listen to Iran’s wishes and find a way to avoid clashing with an Iranian proxy militia.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
2 Sep. 2025
-
Both sides insist the other initiated the initial volley of gunfire that killed four agents and six sectarians.—
Joshua Alston,
Variety,
12 Apr. 2023
Adjective
-
Weiss and Tom Cibrowski were openly hostile from the start.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
3 June 2026
-
The Space Force budget has grown significantly in recent years, and one of its mandates is countering spying and potentially hostile acts by Russian and Chinese spacecraft in these orbits.—
Eric Berger,
ArsTechnica,
2 June 2026
Noun
-
The backstory The Ritz-Carlton Maldives opening is bittersweet for followers of Kerry Hill, the late, venerated Australian architect responsible for some of the most legendary hotels in the last quarter-century (including several Aman properties and The Datai Langkawi).—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
1 June 2026
-
The Eternal Values promise Mierers lured followers in with discussions of enlightenment and mental clarity, often revolving around diet, exercise, celibacy, and the willingness to give up material possessions.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
1 June 2026
Noun
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The facility remains popular among anti-immigrant crusaders, and Attorney General Uthmeier’s campaign store sells Alligator Alcatraz bumper stickers, T-shirts, and caps.—
Eric Schlosser,
The Atlantic,
4 June 2026
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Lebanese culture minister Ghassan Salameh tells NPR those strikes have put important Roman sites and a crusader castle at risk.—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
29 May 2026
Noun
-
In fact, the very term anti-Semitism was popularized by Wilhelm Marr, a German nationalist who sought to distinguish his anti-Jewish ideology from the crass bigotry of the common folk by dressing his hate up in pseudoscientific terms.—
Yair Rosenberg,
The Atlantic,
31 May 2026
-
While Washington was private about his Anglican beliefs and a supporter of religious freedom for all faiths, Christian nationalists have been reviving the image, and with it, the claim that the US is an inherently Christian nation at its origin.—
Devorah Lauter,
ARTnews.com,
15 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Partisan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/partisan. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
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